


Thank God It’s Christmas

by KyluxFicHell



Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018), Queen (Band)
Genre: Christmas, Fluff, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Modern AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-01
Updated: 2018-12-01
Packaged: 2019-09-02 20:18:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16794016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KyluxFicHell/pseuds/KyluxFicHell
Summary: The silence in the room is deafening.“Bri,” Roger says softly, swallowing. “What is this?”“Holy shit,” Freddie says as he leans over to get a better look. “That’s a fucking diamond ring, darling.”“Yes I can see that, Fred.” Roger rolls his eyes before fixing Brian with a questioning gaze. “I mean- Bri...why are you giving this to me?”Brian can tell that Roger knows the answer, but he wants Brian to say it. He knows what this is and what’s happening, but he wants the confirmation.“I’ve been thinking about it for a while,” Brian begins nervously. “Roger, I’ve never never loved anyone as much as-““On one knee, Bri,” John stage-whispers, giving Brian a firm shove.ORThe boys spend Christmas together and John convinces Brian that this would be the perfect time to propose to Roger...





	Thank God It’s Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much to everyone who’s read and commented on my previous fics. It’s really encouraged me to keep on going so please do keep sharing your thoughts and feedback with me!
> 
> Come and say hi on Tumblr: @bohemian-rhapsody-slash

It had been Freddie’s idea for the four of them to spend Christmas together.

Brian’s still not quite sure why he agreed to it. It might be because he had felt sorry for Freddie, who’s been moping over Jim going to visit relatives up north for Christmas while he’s stayed behind to work in the studio. It might be because Brian had known that John’s parents are abroad for the holidays.

Or it might be because Roger had batted his eyes and insisted _please, Bri, it’ll be fuuuun_ as he shoved his hand down the front of Brian’s jeans.

 _Yep_ , Brian thinks as he takes in the chaos in front of him, _definitely the third reason._

There’s wrapping paper strewn across the floor, bottles of opened champagne and wine covering every surface, and John is wearing the biggest eyesore of a Christmas jumper that Brian has ever seen. George Michael is crooning from the speakers where Roger has his phone plugged in. And there are sprigs of mistletoe dotted everywhere, carefully arranged by Freddie for maximum coverage.

“Oh _wow_.” Freddie holds up the pair of fluffy cat slippers he’s just unwrapped, grinning from ear to ear. “Deaky, these are perfect! Simply _divine_.”

John gives a satisfied smile before returning to flicking through the photography book that he’d been gifted by Brian and Roger.

“Roger dear,” Freddie says as he admires the slippers that are now on his feet. “I think it’s your turn to open a present.”

“Hm?” Roger lifts his head from Brian’s shoulder, his paper crown slipping down to cover his eyes. His cheeks are a little flushed, and when Brian removes his arm from Roger’s shoulders to put the crown back in place, he can tell from his boyfriend’s sleepy expression that he’s probably a little tipsy. 

“It’s your turn to open a present, Rog,” Brian says softly. He wonders how long the younger man has been passed out for. The small sofa they’re sharing is ridiculously comfortable, and Brian can almost feel himself dozing off now that he has a stomach full of food and Roger’s warm body pressed against his side.

“Let’s have a look.” Freddie rummages through the few remaining presents under the tree, before picking up a small rectangular box and squinting at the label. “Ah, here we go! This one’s for you, Rog. And it’s from Brian!”

That wakes Brian up, his heart starting to pound as he remembers _exactly_ what’s in that small rectangular box. 

“Um,” Brian says quickly, mind racing, “you know, I think maybe it’s best if I give that one to you later, when we’re on our own-“

“Why?” Freddie smirks as he passes the box to Roger. “Is it a sex toy?”

“No.” Brian can feel himself start to panic, because while he’d been convinced a week ago that presenting this particular gift to Roger on Christmas Day in front of their friends would be the most romantic gesture ever, he’s now starting to have second thoughts.

“Well you’ve got me excited now,” Freddie smirks. “You’ve really built the anticipation, darling!”

“Go on, Bri.” John smiles at Brian encouragingly and pats him on the knee. “Roger will love it,” he says a little more quietly.

John had actually helped Brian pick out this particular gift, so it reassures him a little to know he already has the approval and support of one of his closest friends. But there’s still that niggling doubt in his mind, that voice that Brian knows in his heart is wrong but still taunts him with _why would anyone like Roger ever want you._

Roger is sitting up properly now, the sleepiness gone from his expression. He’s looking at Brian with a mixture of poorly-concealed eagerness and excitement, his blue eyes shining. Brian has never been able to say no to those eyes. 

“Ok,” Brian finds himself saying, but even as Roger’s face lights up he can hear that voice in his head getting louder. _What if he hates it what if he says no what if he laughs in my face-_

“Brian.” John nudges him from his thoughts, nodding towards Roger and mouthing _pay attention_ as the blond takes the small box from Freddie and starts to carefully unwrap it.

Brian honestly feels as though he’s about to be sick and time seems to slow down as he watches his boyfriend carefully removing the neat wrapping paper, his smile growing. Brian isn’t even aware that he’s rubbing his hands together nervously until John takes one of his hands in his own and squeezes reassuringly.

When Roger finally opens the box, the smile disappears from his face.

The silence in the room is _deafening_.

“Bri,” Roger says softly, swallowing. “What is this?”

“Holy shit,” Freddie says as he leans over to get a better look. “That’s a fucking diamond ring, darling.”

“Yes I can see that, Fred.” Roger rolls his eyes before fixing Brian with a questioning gaze. “I mean- Bri...why are you giving this to me?”

Brian can tell that Roger knows the answer, but he wants Brian to say it. He knows what this is and what’s happening, but he wants the confirmation.

“I’ve been thinking about it for a while,” Brian begins nervously. “Roger, I’ve never never loved anyone as much as-“

“On one knee, Bri,” John stage-whispers, giving Brian a firm shove.

“Er, right.” Brian hastily positions himself on one knee in front of Roger, taking both the younger man’s hands in his own. 

Roger is smiling softly at him now that it’s clear what’s going on. It fills Brian with a little more confidence, even though he’s forgotten the entirety of his speech which he’d practised the day before on John. He’s also acutely aware that he has an audience.

Brian tries to block out Freddie and John and focus instead on Roger, his blue eyes sparkling, cheeks slightly flushed, his paper-crown lopsided atop his messy blond locks-

“I love you,” Brian ends up blurting out. There were so many things he’d wanted to say but this is the only thing he can seem to articulate. “I love you so much, Rog. I want to spend the rest of my life making music with you and taking care of you and making you happy...”

He trails off, desperately trying to remember everything else he wants to say, and there’s _so much_ he wants to say; there’s so much he wants to tell Roger about how he feels-

“Brian.” Roger’s soft voice interrupts him from his thoughts.

Their eyes meet for a moment, and Brian is filled with all the confidence he needs.

“Ask me,” Roger says quietly, his smile blinding.

Brian reaches up to remove the paper crown from Roger’s head, fingers trailing down to caress the younger man’s cheek, before taking the small box and removing the ring.

“Roger Meddows Taylor,” Brian says, grinning, “will you marry m-“

Roger’s lips are on Brian’s before he has a chance to finish. The hunger of the kiss surprises him so much that Brian finds himself toppling backwards, bringing a laughing Roger with him. They end up in a pile on the floor, kissing until they are both out of breath.

“ _Please_ ,” Freddie sighs, “tell me that’s a yes.”

“Yeah,” Roger laughs, pure joy in his eyes. “ _Yes_. I will marry you, Brian Harold May.”

Brian is vaguely aware of Freddie and John cheering and hugging each other as he and Roger kiss again. When they part, the first thing he does is slide the ring onto Roger’s slim finger. It’s only now that he notices the diamond is the same colour as Roger’s eyes.

“Fuck yes!” Freddie shouts, pulling Roger off Brian to hug him. “It’s about fucking time!”

John helps Brian to his feet with a grin. “Congratulations, mate. I’m so happy for you.”

“Cheers, Deaky.” Brian hugs the younger man. “Thanks for all your help.”

“What?” Freddie pauses from spinning Roger around in a bear hug. “Wait a minute... _what_? Deaky, did you know about this?”

John freezes. “Um.”

“You _did_!” Freddie points an accusatory finger at John. “You knew and you didn’t tell me!”

“I asked him not to,” Brian interjects, rolling his eyes.

“But why tell Deaky and not me?” Freddie whines.

“Because _Deaky_ can keep a secret.”

Freddie rolls his eyes dramatically. “ _Really_. Well, you can make it up to me by putting me in charge of planning your bachelor party.”

“Fine.”

“And I want to sing at the wedding.”

Freddie starts to rattle off a list of things that they need to start planning _right away_ as Roger excitedly shows off his engagement ring to John.

Brian thinks that maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea for the four of them to spend Christmas together after all.

*****

The rest of the afternoon passes by in a bit of a blur after Freddie insists on opening yet more champagne to celebrate. 

The four of them laze around and watch Elf, but Brian eventually heaves himself off the sofa when John suggests they play Jenga, and slips out to the kitchen to do some clearing up instead.

Brian has always found cleaning to be oddly soothing, whereas Roger will try and get out of it at any opportunity. As he washes dishes he hums a riff to himself that he’s been thinking about over the last few days- the beginnings of a song he’s planning to compose for Roger as a wedding gift. 

Brian still can’t quite believe that Roger’s actually agreed to marry him, that he’d said _yes_ without any hesitation. Marriage isn’t really something they’d ever talked about seriously; it had normally only been mentioned as an occasional passing joke between them and their band mates. But Brian knows it’s something he wants, and that Roger wants too judging by his response today, and this is the right time in their lives to be doing this now the band is doing well and they’re making good money-

He must lose track of time because his thoughts are interrupted by John’s gentle hand on his shoulder.

“Need any help?” John’s hair is sticking up all over the place, as if he’s just woken from a nap. At least he seems to have shed the ridiculous Christmas jumper.

Brian hasn’t noticed that it had gone oddly quiet in the living room, meaning his band mates must have given up on the game and fallen asleep at some point. 

“Could use a hand with drying.” Brian tosses John a dishcloth.

They work in companionable silence for a few minutes. The fact that they can comfortably spend so much time together while saying so little is one of the things Brian loves most about John. It’s what makes his relationship with John slightly different from what he has with Roger or Freddie. 

“Congratulations again,” John says as they near the end of their task. “I’m really happy for you both.”

“Thanks,” Brian grins. “And thanks for all your help, Deaky. I knew he would say yes, but I was still so nervous. I wouldn’t have had the guts to do this without you.”

“I’m glad I could help.” John’s smile is genuine, but also a little timid, and almost... _sad_.

“Everything alright?” Brian asks, concerned. 

“I’m fine.” John shrugs. “It’s nothing.”

Brian shakes his head. “Something’s the matter. C’mon, tell me what’s up.” He nudges John playfully. “Unless you’re gonna tell me that you’re secretly in love with Rog or something.”

“No,” John replies quickly, his face turning red, “I’m not. I mean, I love Rog, but not like _that_. I just...” He bites his lip.

“What is it?” Brian prompts. John may be a quiet man, but it’s unusual to see him lost for words. 

John shrugs. “Well...I was just thinking. You and Rog are gonna get married and go off and have a family together, and Freddie’s got Jim, so pretty soon he’ll have another life too. And I know it’s terribly selfish and awful of me, but it made me think- where does that leave me?”

John’s voice is quiet and he’s staring at the floor miserably, looking rather weary as if this is a thought he’s had for a long time. It breaks Brian’s heart.

“ _Hey_ ,” Brian says softly, pulling the younger man into a hug. “Listen to me. We’re not going anywhere. Not me, not Roger, not Freddie. Your place is with us and it always will be. _Queen_ is our family.”

“Yeah,” John mumbles into Brian’s shirt. “Ok.”

“We’re far too attached to you, Deaky. Roger’s even talked about making sure we have a dedicated Deaky room when we move to our own place so you can stay whenever you like.”

“Really?” John perks up a little.

“Of course. We’re always gonna want you to be a part of our lives.” Brian gives him a gentle squeeze. “And we definitely want you to be a part of the wedding. You’ll be my best man, yeah?”

John gives a proper smile now. “Really? Do you mean that?”

“Definitely. I couldn’t have done any of this without you. Besides, I’m pretty sure I heard Roger asking Freddie earlier to be his best man, and it would mean a lot to me and Rog if you could both be a part of it.”

He also wants to say _I need someone who can tell Freddie to chill the fuck out when he goes crazy with wedding plans_ but he leaves that part out.

They’re interrupted when a sleepy looking Roger pads into the kitchen. He’s wearing John’s Christmas jumper, which is a size too big for him, and Brian thinks he’s never looked more adorable.

“You guys,” Roger giggles as he helps himself to a glass of water, clearly still quite tipsy, “you’re standing under mistletoe.” He points above their heads.

Brian looks up, and sure enough a sprig of mistletoe is hanging from the lampshade above their heads. _Bloody Freddie_ , he thinks. 

John flushes and tries to step away, but Brian catches Roger’s eye with a grin and grabs John’s wrist to keep him in place. There’s a slightly playful wrestle as John half-heartedly resists, until eventually he gives up and allows Brian to plant a very chaste kiss on his lips.

“My turn,” Roger pipes up, squeezing his way under the mistletoe. “Not _you_ ,” he laughs, when Brian attempts to kiss him, “I kiss you all the bloody time. I think it’s only fair I get to kiss Deaky. As it’s Christmas.”

John’s face turns even redder but he smiles bashfully. His eyes dart to Brian as Roger wraps his arms around John’s neck, silently seeking permission, and when Brian smiles and nods John leans in to give Roger a short but sweet kiss, his hands respectfully on the blond’s waist.

“We won’t be able to do that when you’re a married man you know,” John points out, giving Roger another kiss on the cheek. “It won’t be proper.”

Roger laughs and turns round to finally pull Brian in for a kiss by the collar of his shirt, although this kiss is a lot less chaste than the ones they’d just shared with John.

“What the _fuck_ is going on here?” Freddie shrieks as he storms into the kitchen, taking in the scene before him with his hands on his hips.

“Don’t tell me I’ve been fucking left out _again_. I specifically put that mistletoe up so that we would _all_ get to kiss each other, and then I come out here and find you’re all kissing without me! I mean _really_.”

“Fred-“

“Right, who’s kissed who so far? I have some catching up to do.”

They all laugh as Freddie bulldozes his way into the middle of the group under the mistletoe. 

While Freddie makes an attempt to grab at John, Brian quickly steals another kiss from Roger. 

He’s actually starting to warm to the idea of the four of them spending Christmas together next year.

*****

When Brian had originally imagined this day, he’d been hoping that he and Roger would be spending their evening doing something a little more energetic. And that they would be a little more naked.

But now they’re all squashed together on the sofa under a couple of blankets watching the Doctor Who Christmas special, and Brian actually thinks this is the perfect way to finish the first day of day of his engagement. Especially with Roger wedged between him and Freddie, occasionally glancing down to stare at the ring on his left hand with a small smile on his face. 

John yawns and stretches as the credits roll, but frowns as he notices something under the tree.

“Hey, guys. There’s still one more present under here.” He rummages under the tree to retrieve a small package, squinting at the label. “To Bri, love Rog.”

Roger stiffens. “Shit. I completely forgot about that one.”

Freddie perks up from his place at the other end of the sofa. “Open it, Bri.”

“Actually, I’m not sure this is a good idea,” Roger says nervously as John passes the gift to Brian, “it’s probably better if I give this one to you in private.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, darling,” Freddie dismisses with an excited wave of his hand. “Brian’s going to love it.” He leans forward to grin at Brian. “ _I_ helped pick this particular gift, so I can personally assure you of its quality.”

Feeling intrigued now, Brian starts to tear open the wrapping paper despite Roger’s protests.

“Honestly, Bri, I don’t think this is a good idea-“

But it’s too late, and Brian freezes when he finally gets a look at what’s inside the package.

John’s eyebrows shoot up into his hairline, Roger’s face goes very very red, and Freddie claps his hands with glee.

“Um.” Brian holds up the tiny pair of lacy red women’s underwear between his fingertips. “Thanks? I’m not sure they’ll fit me though.”

“They’re not for _you_ to wear,” Freddie clarifies as Roger buries his face in one of the blankets. “They’re for Roger to wear _for_ you, dear.”

Brian can’t quite bring himself to say anything, but the thought of Roger wearing nothing but the garment in front of him is quite possibly the best Christmas present he’s ever had.

“It was Fred’s idea,” Roger mumbles, avoiding eye contact with everyone else.

“And you thought it was a splendid idea when I suggested it,” Freddie laughs, playfully nudging Roger. “Blonds really are more fun, eh?”

Brian takes Roger by the hand and tugs him to his feet.

“C’mon, Rog. Let’s go to bed.”

Roger still looks mortified but he laughs and covers his face with his other hand.

“Yeah boys,” Freddie whoops, “go and celebrate your engagement properly!”

Brian can’t quite believe that he’s managed to land himself a fiancée for Christmas- and now he’s going to get to see said fiancée in _lingerie_. He’ll definitely have to thank John and Freddie later.

He thinks maybe the four of them should make it a tradition to spend Christmas together every year.

END 


End file.
